The injury bug is a part of every preseason practice and it came up and hit Auburn right in the mouth Friday when senior center Joe Cope went down with a knee injury. The 6-foot-1, 272-pound Cope, who started 11 games last season, appeared to have his left knee rolled on by a teammate.

Cope, who was wearing braces on both knees, managed to limp off the field following the injury and make his way to the trainer's tent where ice was applied to his injured knee.

Head coach Tommy Tuberville declined to speculate on the seriousness of the injury following Friday's two-hour practice.

"We'll wait and see," said Tuberville. "They'll evaluate that in the next couple of days."

Cope left the intramural fields under his own power following the end of practice, a possible good sign for Auburn.